Beyond the Grave
by CerapinTech
Summary: Katsuki was right. All he had to do to get his quirk was jump. But it's never as simple as that. (Ghost!Izuku) (Guilty!Bakugo)
1. Chapter 1 - Part 1

Izuku sat with his back resting on the flat stone. The sun was bright and warm, and the wind was gentle as it passed through him. He smiled up at the sky, content to let the time pass by.

Footsteps sounded and Izuku smiled up as Katsuki Bakugo came to a stop in front of him. But the other boy did not notice him. He looked right through Izuku to the grave he rested against, inscribed with a familiar name: Izuku Midoria. Katsuki's face was carefully blank as he stared at the stone. Izuku's smile dropped when he noticed Katsuki's hands shaking.

Katsuki did this everyday; he would go out of his way to visit him before school and some days he'd stop by again as the sun was setting. He would just stand there with his blank look for a couple of minutes, then huff and storm away.

Izuku watched sadly as his childhood friend left. He couldn't understand why Katsuki did what he did, after all, he'd been right. All he had to do was jump, and lo and behold his quirk manifested. He called it Ghost. The major downside was that no one could see him, but he was learning to control it and soon, he may even be able to talk to Katsuki again.

Izuku stood—or floated—as Katsuki turned the corner and headed to school. It was time to practice.

 **Oo-oO**

"Damnit," Katsuki kicked an empty can and sent it skittering along the sidewalk.

It had been a month since it happened and everyday he regretted what he'd said. If he hadn't been so _stupid_ , none of it would have happened.

But—but _why?!_ He couldn't help but ask. He'd been telling the nerd what to do for _years_. Why did he listen _then_? Of all the things, why did he latch onto _that?_ One stupid thing . . .

He hadn't meant it. It just slipped out before he knew what he was doing. And then . . .

"Damnit!"

 **Oo-oO**

" _You were right, Ka-chan."_

No.

 _"I did it!"_

Why?!

 _"I jumped."_

Stop it!

 _"It's okay, Ka-chan. I'm okay. You were right. Everything's okay now."_

No it's not, dumb ass!

 _"We can't meet yet, but I'm getting stronger. Soon we'll be able to talk properly."_

Leave me alone!  
 _"Soon . . ._ "

. . .

He gasped as he sat up in bed. His heart pounded in his chest and he shivered at the memory of the nightmare. It was the same one he'd been having for a while now, only worse.

He brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face into them to hide the tears from his empty room. Izuku was speaking to him, calling for him to join him. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it. After all, did he really deserve to live after pushing someone else to stop?

 _"Soon,"_ the dream had reassured.

"Soon," Katsuki repeated as he curled into himself even more. _Maybe . . ._

. . .

Izuku frowned as he watched Katsuki cry. He hadn't meant to make him cry. He was trying to reassure him. It was better this way, why didn't he understand? He'd gotten better at projecting his thoughts into dreams but physical apparitions were still beyond him. But he didn't give up.

The next day, Izuku was there to smile at Katsuki as the living boy stopped in front of his grave. He stood there a moment with his carefully blank face, staring hard at the name carved into the stone. Then he did something he hadn't done in the month since it happened. He spoke to him.

"Alright, listen here you stupid nerd," he ground out. Izuku stared at him, captivated. Although his face was blank, but voice was stained with the emotions he was desperately trying to keep in check.

Katsuki took a deep breath and glanced around to make sure no one else was around to see him talking to some stupid rock. "I'm sorry," he finally said, his teeth grinding together in frustration as his eyes pooled with tears. "I didn't mean it, any of it. But this isn't all on me! It's your own damn fault for being an idiot! You're not supposed to take me seriously! You're supposed to fight back and keep going! It's what you always did," his voice tapered off and he clenched his hands into fight fists. "No matter what I would say or how I'd push you around, you always got back up. So what the hell happened?" The anger flashed in his eyes again as he glared at the head stone. "What the hell happened!? Why the hell did you suddenly decide to listen to me?! You stupid idiot. . ." He stopped as his voice hitched and he fought back the sob building in his throat. "Now look at you. Look what happened. . . What _I_ made happen . . . I—"

He choked back the emotion and dropped to the ground cross legged.

" _I'm_ the idiot, aren't I?" He asked no one as he buried his face in his hands and leaned forward.

" _Ka-chan. . ."_

"Shut up, stupid Deku," he whispered back. "I don't want to hear it."

 _"It's not your fault."_

"Yes it is," he buried his face deeper into his hands. "I did this." He looked up, looked right through the ghost boy to the cold grave stone. "I did this. . ."

Izuku tried to speak to him, but he wasn't strong enough. The few words he'd managed to pass along did nothing to sooth Katsuki. Instead, he stood in front of the grieving boy and place an ethereal hand on his head as he sat there. It wasn't much, but it was all he could do at the moment.

Because Izuku didn't blame Katsuki. He'd been right. All Izuku had to do to awaken his quirk was die. He could still be a hero. And one day, he'd get the chance to thank Katsuki face to face.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Confession time. I totally had no intention of doing any more with this fic than what you saw in the first chapter, but after the awesome response I got, i started thinking and I got a decent plot for you all to enjoy. So Thanks for the inspiration everyone!

* * *

Chapter 2

Izuku sat on the stone wall of in the grave yard, watching people walk by. Many carried flowers, even more were stone faced, but they all came in vain. There was no one listening to _their_ prayers. There were no lingering spirits of the dead they came to see. No one to appreciate the flowers they left or the tears they shed.

It only occurred to him now how foolish such customs were. The dead can't hear you. Real ghosts don't exist. After all, Izuku's never seen another soul in the grave yard. He was the only one. It made him giddy inside just thinking about it. He was the first with this sort of quirk. He was the first ever Ghost.

 _Doesn't sound like much of a hero name,_ he'd think. _Maybe something like Spector. . ._

An older woman in a tan dress and a sun hat walked through the gate holding an old book in one hand and a single rose in the other. He watched her walk down the neat rows of headstones before coming to a stop in front a small rectangular stone no more than a foot tall. She sat down on the grass, spreading her dress out around her and opened her book to the marked page.

He didn't know the woman's name, only that she came here once a week with a new rose and would read another chapter aloud from her book. Sometimes he would linger and listen to her soft-spoken voice as she wove tales of adventure, mystery and love. Izuku found that he like the older woman. She was never depressed or sad when she visited but smiled fondly at the memory of whoever she was visiting. It was a little bit of sunshine in this mostly dreary park of death.

Today, Izuku didn't listen to the story. He was busy practicing. The seasons were changing and the leaves couldn't decide what colour they wanted to be anymore. The autumn leaves swirled around as the wind picked them up and danced with them. Or at least, anyone who happened to look would think it was just the wind. Maybe if they were observant enough to notice that there was no breeze, they would think it was odd, but no one ever did.

Izuku used his quirk to move the leaves, swirling them in circles and making them chase each other around the head stones. A sort of telekinesis, he deduced. He'd never been one for the supernatural, but he knew that this was something ghosts were known to do. He wondered fleetingly if these powers increased with emotion, like how an angered spirit could supposedly throw a car across the road. He also discovered that he could speak through dreams and even directly into another's mind, although the latter takes a lot out of him. And he still hasn't been able to make himself visible yet.

Izuku shook his head from depressing thoughts. He just needed more practice! He'd train more and soon he'd make things right again.

Smiling with content, he phased off the stone wall and drifted down the street away from the older woman with the sun hat who was still reading her book and wandered into the city. He hadn't been able to get too far from the grave yard because even moving around used up his energy. If he got too tired, he'd always pass out and wake up back at his grave some time later. He'd tried getting on a bus and even a train to get farther, but as soon as it started moving, he phased through his seat and it left him behind.

So he would wander around, trying to improve his stamina and each day he'd go a little farther. As he wandered, he'd practice lifting empty cans or discarded shoes. Once he even managed stopped a flower pot from falling off someone's balcony, but it took so much out of him that he passed out right there and didn't wake up for a whole day.

There was another thing he found interesting about his Ghost quirk; he could go literally anywhere he wanted. No one could stop him, no one even knew he was there. He liked exploring the most. He was drifting around a calm neighbourhood when it happened. Someone spoke out to him.

"Hey."

At first, Izuku ignored him because who would be talking to a ghost, no one could even see him.

"I said, 'Hey!'"

Izuku spared a glance behind him and stopped when his eyes locked onto the boy glaring at him. He looked older than Izuku, further confirmed from the high school uniform he wore, with longer dark hair and half lidded grey eyes. Izuku looked around, but there was no one else around that the other boy could have been talking to.

"Yes, I'm talking to you," the dark haired boy sighed and drew closer. "You're that Midoria kid, right? The one who committed suicide last month?"

 _I didn't commit suicide!_ Izuku glared. People still don't get it.

"You jumped off the school building," the other boy insisted. "Pretty sure that's suicide."

 _I—Wait. You can see me? And hear me? Am I even really talking? Wait! Am I visible?! Can you see me?!_

"Slow down," he covered his ears, annoyed. "I can see you, but no one else can."

 _Is that you're quirk then? You can see ghosts?_

"Naw, my quirk is something different," the kid shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked at the ground. "You can say I'm psychic, attuned to the after life. And it sucks, so if you wouldn't mind passing on to the next life for me, that'd be great."

 _Why would I do that?_ Izuku asked innocently.

"What? Why wouldn't you? Isn't that why you died? To go somewhere better?"

 _No. I died so that my quirk could manifest,_ Izuku answered truthfully. _I was skeptical at first, but it worked! I call it Ghost._

"Uh, sorry to break it to ya kid, but you _are_ a ghost," he frowned. "It's not a quirk, just a part of life—or, death I guess."

 _Nope! It's my quirk and now I can finally become a hero!_

The kid with the long dark hair sighed again and scratched his head. "How are you supposed to be a hero as a ghost? No one can see you, and you can't really _do_ much other than annoy me and any other psychics in the area."

 _There are other psychics?_

"Not many," the other kid answered. "But a few. And not all of them are as nice as I am. If they find you they'll probably try to exorcize you on the spot and you can say good bye to your happily ever after. It's better for you to accept what's happened and pass on by yourself."

 _. . ._ Izuku stared at the psychic boy, inspecting him. He wasn't sure what to think of it all. If there were real psychics, did that mean that he wasn't the first ghost? Have other people had this quirk before? And why did this guy keep wanting him to 'pass on'.

"You know I can hear everything your thinking, right?" the kid rolled his eyes.

 _You can!_ Izuku ghost blushed and started to fumble.

"You're not actually talking to me, you don't have a voice anymore, but I can understand what you're wanting to say. That goes for thoughts too."

 _But I spoke to someone before._

"Really?" the psychic said, surprised. "Didn't you only die, like, a month ago?"

 _Does that matter?_

"It usually takes a lot longer to start developing those sorts of tricks."

 _Must be because I've been training._

"Training?" the kid asked incredulously.

 _Heroes have to train to be strong in order to overcome any obstacle!_

"You're dead! You can't be a hero if you're dead!"

 _They also said I couldn't be a hero without a quirk! Now look at me!_

"No quirk . . ." That explains it, the reason the kid jumped. He wanted to be something he couldn't, and that same desire manifested in his spirit. _Not good_ , the dark-haired teenager thought, narrowing his half-lidded eyes. _If he becomes any stronger they might notice._

 _How do you know my name?_ Izuku asked, drifting up beside the psychic.

He snapped out of his thoughts to answer. "Noticed you hanging around a while back. Didn't seem like you were going anywhere so I looked into it. It's not hard to find coverage of a middle schooler taking a swan dive off a roof."

 _Hm. . ._ Izuku let that absorb and the guilt seeped in around the edges. He knew it was a selfish thing that he did, but it was okay now. Wasn't it?

"By the way, I'm Kolo," the psychic boy introduced himself to distract the ghost boy from his depressing train of thought.

 _Oh, uh, nice to meet you._

"Sure," Kolo started walking and beckoned Izuku to follow. "You mentioned that you were able to talk to someone before?"

 _Oh, yeah. I was talking to Ka-chan._

"Oh?"

 _He's feeling sad because of what happened._

"Well you can't blame him for that."

 _I just wanted to tell him that it's okay like this. So I've been training so I can talk to him properly._

"If you want, I can tell him for you."

 _You would?!_

"Sure, why not. If it helps you find peace or whatever."

 _I don't know if that would work. Ka-chan. . . Ka-chan's kind of hard to talk to._

"So are ghosts, but I'm talking to you."

 _This is different._

"If you say so," Kolo shrugged. "So where can I find this Ka-chan?"

 _Well, he stops by my grave every morning before school. Sometimes he comes just as the sun's setting too._

"Hm, alright then, let's go."

 _Go?_

"Yeah, it's about sunset."

 _I—i—I mean, he doesn't always come—_

"Geez, if he doesn't then I'll come tomorrow, too."

 _I still don't think this is a good idea. He'll probably just get mad at you. . . I doubt he'll believe you either._

"Then tell me something that only you'd know. He'd believe me then, wouldn't he?"

 _I don't know. Once he gets going there's nothing that can stop him._

"We'll see about that."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Katsuki sat up in his bed as his alarm went off. He let it beep as he stared out the window at the overcast sky. It was going to rain today. But even though he knew that he didn't bring an umbrella as he left the house.

He left earlier than usual. His footsteps were slow and heavy weighed down by the guilt and depression that had plagued him for the last month. He felt like he should feel lighter, or at least _something_ , after his confession at Izuku's grave, but that was stupid. He was only talking to himself.

It had been a couple days since his last nightmare where Izuku was inviting him to join him in the afterlife. That also should have come as a relief, but instead it felt like Izuku was slipping away, as if his last connection was fading, and if it disappeared, so would he . . . Besides, Katsuki didn't deserve the peace of a good nights rest. He deserved to be tormented and haunted. He didn't deserve the forgiveness he refused to hear in his dreams.

It only made things worse when he arrived at Izuku's head stone and found a stranger already there muttering to himself. Katsuki immediately felt his head heat up and his hands clenched into fists.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded in a voice that was too loud for the quiet graveyard. The older boy turned and Katsuki noticed that he had longer dark hair and half lidded gray eyes.

"That him?" the stranger asked, his gaze flicking to the grave, then back to Katsuki. "Alright then."

"Don't ignore me!" Katsuki yelled. There was something about this guy that pissed him off. He didn't like him being here. Not here.

"Aren't you the charmer," the stranger muttered and rubbed the back of his head. "Look, you may or may not believe me, but I have a message for you."

"The fuck?"

"From your friend," the stranger nodded toward the grave and Katsuki saw red. "He—"

The stranger was interrupted by Katsuki's fist as he smashed his face in, sending him to the ground.

"What the hell!" the stranger rolled on the ground.

"That's my line!" Katsuki yelled, panting hard. "I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but if I ever see your stupid face again I'll blow it off!" His threat was emphasized by the explosion erupting from his outstretched hand.

The stranger rubbed his face and sat up with a sigh. "I know, I know, 'I told you so'," he muttered to the grave again.

"Stop doing that!" Katsuki ordered, his breath coming in heavy pants.

"Doing what?" the stranger asked, half lidded eyes bored and annoyed at the throbbing of his face.

"Stop pretending like someone's there!"

"He _is_ there," the stranger picked himself up lolled his head toward where Izuku hovered unseen.

"He's DEAD!" Katsuki jumped towards the other kid again but stopped short when a flurry of red and yellow ginkgo leaves fluttered in his face. He watched awestruck as they hovered in midair for a bit then started to spin in circles before drifting to the ground.

Katsuki gnashed his teeth together and glared at the other boy. "What was that some pathetic display of your quirk? Like a couple of leaves are gonna stop me."

"Seriously?" the stranger raised his hands and let them drop back to his side in indignation. "That wasn't me! It was _him!_ " He pointed to the grave again.

Katsuki grabbed the front of his shirt and smashed their foreheads together. "You listen here, Droopy Eyes," he said through clenched teeth. "You're gonna give the bull shit a rest before I beat it out of you. The stupid nerd's dead! He offed himself! You don't come back from that, and if you think I'm stupid enough to believe some half cocked story that his _spirit_ or some dumb shit is still lingering around you can shove it up your ass." Katsuki pushed the guy away, who stumbled to keep his balance, then he turned away and threatened over his shoulder. "And if I _ever_ see your stupid ass face again I'll personally pound it until it's unrecognizable."

The psychic watched as the hot-tempered teen stormed away before turning to look at Izuku. The ghost simply shrugged.

 _I warned you. He's hard to talk to._

"And you were friends with that guy?" Kolo asked, his face still smarting.

 _Well, 'friends' is kind of a strong word. . ._

Kolo couldn't put a word to the overall impression that Izuku was emitting of this Ka-chan character and in all honesty, he didn't understand why Izuku was so hung up on him. But then again, this Ka-chan kid seemed hung up on the ghost boy too, otherwise why else would he stop by every day?

"It's okay," Kolo reassured Izuku. "I'll get through to him."

 _It's okay, really_ , Izuku tried. _Ka-chan will be Ka-chan. You can't force him to listen if he doesn't want to. Even if you get enough time to say it, it'll probably just go in one ear and out the other. . ._

"No," Kolo insisted. "If doing this will get you to pass on, I'll find some way to get through to him."

 _Back to that again._ If ghosts could sweat drop, Izuku would have. He's expressed enough times that he had no intention of passing on. He didn't know why Kolo was so determined, and while relaying the message would certainly reassure Izuku, he wasn't ready to 'pass on'. He'd just awakened his quirk! He was finally going to be a hero! He couldn't just abandon his dream. . .

"Come on," Kolo broke him from his thoughts and Izuku realized he probably heard all of that. "You said you'd been training?" Izuku nodded. "That thing with the leaves was pretty impressive, let's see what else you can do."

 _Okay!_

 **Oo-oO**

The woman with the tan dress and sunhat snapped her book shut and stood up. She left the single rose on the random grave she had chosen of a man she hadn't known in life and didn't care for either way. She walked delicately out of the grave yard before ripping off the hat and wig that disguised her features. She slipped on a pair of reflective sunglasses as her long brown hair fell around her shoulders in loose curls and pulled out a cell phone.

"Sir," she said in a husky voice that was very different from the one Izuku would listen to, "I've found one."

" _Excellent."_

 **Oo-oO**

Katsuki didn't go to school that day. It wasn't the first time he's skipped and probably wouldn't be the last. His teachers usually didn't care either way but after the tragedy, they made sure to give him his space. Better to let him unleash his anger outside rather than taking it out on school property and other students.

So, he would find himself wandering the streets and would eventually come to this one stupid beach that was completely littered with garbage. It was so disgusting that he could barely walk without stepping in something, but it was the perfect place to hide away. He could blow shit up without people caring and somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt like he fit right in along side the piles of garbage, because only trash would have done what he did.

 _What was that Droopy Eyes' problem?_ He kicked something metal into the sea. It floated on the surface before slowly sinking out of sight. _The fuck does he think he is?! Going on like he knows something about it._ "Fuck! Pisses me off!" He yelled at the sea. The water continued lapping slowly at the shore, washing up more trash with each wave.

 _What's wrong with me,_ he asked himself, not for the first time. He blasted himself to the top of a pile of junk and settled down on a busted-up stove; his own throne of garbage. _Like fucking Deku would stick around. I know what he wants to say. It doesn't need saying. Stupid nerd hates me. Hell,_ I _hate me._

 _God,_ he buried his head in his hands _, how am I supposed to be a hero? I'm more like the villain here, aren't I?_

He didn't return home that night but stayed perched on his throne of trash all day and fell asleep shivering and hungry. He woke to the sun rising at his back, casting menacing shadows from the precarious piles of garbage and painting the sea with darkness.

Katsuki stretched and cracked his neck, feeling the pain caused by staying still for far too long. He slid down his mountain and left the beach, knowing he probably smelled of the trash he felt like. His phone was dead but he guessed it was probably around six or so in the morning. He threw his school bag over his shoulder and set off again.

His mother didn't comment when he returned home. It wasn't the first time he'd stayed out, but at least he'd learned to text or call when he was doing so. She still didn't like it, but they were all feeling the loss and she knew he needed his space, so she let him off easy.

After a shower and change of clothes, his mother forced some food into him before he once again left for school, this time with a scarf and jacket to fight off the autumn cold. He felt withdrawn and his steps were even more sluggish then usual.

He stopped in front of the front gate of the grave yard and stared up at the plain stone arch. An unidentifiable mixture of feelings gripped at his heart. _What if Deku was still around? What if he knew he came everyday?_

"Don't be stupid," he told himself and walked the familiar path with his eyes glued to the ground. He kicked up the coloured, dying leaves on the ground and his thoughts drifted to the leaves that had danced in front of him. Droopy Eyes said Deku had done it. How was he supposed to believe that?

Well?

He stopped in front of Izuku's grave and finally turned his eyes up from the ground . All thoughts instantly disappeared from his head.

Shock. That's all that was left. He couldn't form any coherent thoughts. He didn't know what to feel. How was he _supposed_ to feel when he saw the rectangular hole that was dug six feet deep and the broken, empty coffin that sat at the bottom?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I can honestly say I never thought this would do as well as it has. I'm guessing that it'll be around ten chapters in total with a possible sequel and I'll try to keep up with the regular updates. Thanks everyone for all the support! And I'm not sorry for the cliff hanger or anything else that may or may not happen to our cinnamon roll.

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Chapter 4

It didn't take the police long to arrive. They roped off the area and Katsuki watched impassively as more people invaded Izuku's grave site. They climbed into the hole to collect samples. They dusted his head stone looking for trace evidence. They scanned the surrounding areas for clues that would lead to the identity of the grave robbers.

 _Who the fuck digs up someone's grave!_

The angry thought bounced around his head, but no one could give him an answer. The cops were all serious, like this was a big deal or something. It _was_ a big deal, to him at least, but why was it important to them? Didn't they have _real_ villains to catch? Well, not that some sick-ass grave robber wasn't someone who should be put away—

 _Argh!_

His brain wasn't making any sense. He didn't know how to process anything. How _was_ he supposed to handle something like this? I mean, it's so random and . . . and . . . just . . .

Suddenly he was back by the front gate being questioned by a pair of officers. They asked him pointless questions, but he answered as best he could.

"When was the last time you were here?"

"Yesterday morning."

"And you didn't see anything out of the ordinary?"

"No, nothing."

"No one suspicious?"

"No—"

But there _had_ been someone suspicious. Fucking _Droopy Eyes_. And speak of the devil. Katsuki's eyes drifted across the street and locked onto the figure with long dark hair and half lidded grey eyes who was half hidden behind a lamp post. He was talking on the phone, casting the occasional glance toward the graveyard.

 _The bastard!_ Katsuki seethed internally. The officer's thanked him for his time and let him go after making him promise to contact them if he remembered anything important.

Oh, he knew something important alright. A highly suspicious individual perched right across the street who appeared the day before someone dug up Deku's grave and stole his remains. Just try to fucking tell him it wasn't a coincidence! Oh, the bastard was _so_ dead!

Droopy Eyes pushed off the lamp post and started walking down the side walk. Katsuki was already moving before he had a chance to tell his brain what to do. He stalked closer, his heart pounding in his chest and his vision outlined in red. He was going to get some answers. No bullshit this time.

Katsuki couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as Droopy Eyes ducked into an empty side street. Perfect. He set off some pre-emptive firecrackers in anticipation of the smackdown he was about to inflict upon this son of a bitch.

He followed down the empty side street and stopped when he saw Droopy Eyes standing in the middle of the walkway, waiting for him.

"We need to talk," Droopy Eyes said with a straight face.

"I'd say we fucking do," Katsuki couldn't repress the small blasts from escaping his palms. He advanced on the other boy, arms outstretched at his side and ready to lunge forward.

"First, I wanna say that I have nothing to do with what happened today," Droopy Eyes tried to reason.

"Yeah," Katsuki growled. "Sure, I believe you."

"If anything, I was trying to prevent this from happening."

"How? By telling me the last words of a dead kid? You're not helping yourself here," Katsuki stopped with only a foot of space separating the two of them.

"I'm not here to help myself and I'm certainly not here to help clear your guilty conscience," Droopy Eyes ground out between clenched teeth. "I'm here because some poor kid's soul is about to be turned into a weapon."

". . . What?" Katsuki froze and his voice was suddenly very quiet.

"Oh, so now you're listening?" Droopy Eyes folds his arms over his chest and quirks an eyebrow.

"Don't fuck with me!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're very scary," he rolled his half-lidded eyes and turned his back toward him.

"What was that!?"

"If you want answers," Kolo said as he started walking down the side street. "Then shut up, follow me and listen carefully, because I'm not repeating myself."

Katsuki felt like every blood vessel in his face was about to pop, but he restrained himself to blowing up a single overturned garbage can before falling into step behind him.

They walked like that for about a block before Kolo started talking. "From a young age I've been able to see what you'd call spirits. That in and of itself isn't unheard of, but most pass it off as myth and superstition, or in this day and age you'd think it's some variation of a Quirk. I can tell you for certain that it's not. Psychics and mediums have existed for centuries before Quirks even existed on this planet. So I guess it's not surprising that they still pop up in this day and age."

"Cool story," Katsuki spat out, impatient. "Can we get back to the whole _grave robbing_ thing!?"

"I told you to shut up and listen," Kolo replied calmly, not letting himself get agitated. But at least the kid seemed to accept the whole psychic thing. "I'm trying to say that the supernatural still exists and as such, villains have found a way to use it toward their evil deeds."

"So a villain dug up Deku's grave. Genius! I could've fucking told you that!"

Kolo sighed and rubbed his eyes. "And _why_ do you think they took his remains?"

"I don't fucking know! Cuz they're sick!"

"No," Kolo stopped suddenly and turned to face Katsuki. "It's because a ghost is attached to their bones. No matter what, they always return to their remains, which means that if you have the remains, you've essentially captured yourself a ghost."

"And what can you do with a ghost?" Katsuki asked skeptically.

"A whole _fucking_ lot," Kolo answered, pulling from Katsuki's vocabulary. "But if it's who I think it is, they'll be trying to animate an artificial body that they've remotely programed to follow orders while also retaining key abilities of spirits."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Katsuki growled as a very bad feeling wiggled its way into his gut.

"They're trying to make an immortal soldier," Kolo lowered his eyes to the ground for a moment before spinning on his heels and started walking again, assuming Katsuki would follow. "A soldier that can phase through solid objects like a ghost can, that can manipulate the environment, control the elements, and who knows, maybe they'll be able to possess other people too."

"What the hell. . . And no one's been trying to stop this?!"

"Of course we've been trying to stop it," Kolo said between grit teeth. "They haven't been able to successfully animate a ghost soldier yet, partially because there've been no spirits for them to capture."

"But people die all the time," Katsuki picked up his pace and pulled up along side him, gesturing wildly with his hands. "There's literally an entire grave yard of dead bodies to choose from."

"It can't be just any old corpse," Kolo explained, his face neutral and eyes forward. "The spirit of the individual has to still be in this world. If it's passed on then it's nothing more than a pile of old bones."

"Then Deku . . ." Katuski remembered the dreams where Izuku would call out to him. That time in front of his grave when he thought he heard his voice. . . The ginkgo leaves dancing gently in front of his face only yesterday. "He's still here?" he whispered.

"Your friend has stubbornly decided to remain," the psychic ran a hand through his hair with a sigh and Katsuki flinched at the word 'friend'. "It's weird. Usually the people who commit suicide do so because they _want_ to leave this world. They're always the first to pass on. But Midoria? He'd so hung up on being a hero that he doesn't actually think he's dead. He thinks it's some sort of quirk."

Katsuki stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wide. "He what?"

Kolo stopped and turned to look at him. "He thinks he can become some sort of ghost hero."

Katsuki stared off into nothing as the words drove themselves deep. "Wh . . . What was that message. . . The one you were talking about yesterday?" Suddenly, the answer to that question seemed oh, so important.

Kolo averted his eyes. "He wanted you to know that everything okay. It's better this way and it's not your fault."

"LIKE HELL!" Katsuki screamed and drove his fist into the nearest wall, blasting open a hole a meter wide. He retracted his shaking fist as his chest heaved for breath and something pricked at his eyes. "How is this better?! How the HELL is this not my fault!?" He fell into a crouch and started pounding the ground.

Kolo felt a bead of sweat drop at his temple as he stared at the size of the hole in the wall. There wasn't really anything else he could say. Nothing that would console the grieving middle schooler. Instead, he turned around and started walking again.

"Hey!" Katsuki called, his voice cracking. "Hey, answer me Droopy Eyes! Don't just walk away!"

Kolo stopped again but didn't turn around. "I have no answers for you," he glanced over his shoulder at the glaring kid. It was almost pathetic, the arrogant teen kneeling in an ally on the brink of tears asking questions he knew no one knew the answer to. "So if you want some, I suggest you get off your ass and help me find him! You want to be a hero, right? So help me save him."

Katsuki froze at his words.

"MIdoria told me that you're supposed to be strong," Kolo continued. "So stop snivelling on the ground and stand up!"

Katsuki ground his teeth again and jumped to his feet baring his fists although there was little anger behind it. "Don't tell me what to do!" He ran to keep up because Droopy Eyes was right. This wasn't the time to be fucking around. He'd push away the grief and the guilt and pull forward the usual anger and determination that made him who he is.

He'd be a hero. He'd be _his_ hero.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Izuku woke up and couldn't seem to remember why he had passed out, after all ghosts don't sleep and he hadn't been training so he hadn't passed out due to over exertion. . . at least, he didn't think so.

 _. . . Oh! This is a new place_. Well that's even weirder. Whenever he had passed out before he always woke up at his grave, no matter how far he'd wandered.

His muttering bounced around him as he inspected this new area. It was dark, but there was a faint glow of light filtering in from somewhere and from that dim light he could tell that he was in a room with a concrete floor and stone-bricked walls. There wasn't much in the room other than a few pieces of big machinery that he couldn't even begin to guess the use of.

A mysterious room . . . What had brought him here? Where _was_ here? He didn't know.

 _Well, no better way to find out than to explore_ , he reasoned. He tried to move around, but he didn't get far. He couldn't seem to move forward, there was a sort of resistance stopping him. Then he noticed the glass wall that curved around him and formed a sort of containment tube.

 _What?_ He frowned at the glass and tried again, but he still couldn't pass through. . . He wasn't actually touching it, after all he's still a ghost, so he it wasn't like a physical barrier stopping him. Something was very wrong.

His anxiety rose as mind raced and he started pounding on the barrier. . . then he made the mistake of looking down. If he still had a stomach, he would have spilled his guts because laid out on a clean metal examination table was his own half-rotted corpse.

Suddenly a door opened and a man walked in with a woman trailing behind. They approached the containment chamber but didn't look at the corpse laid out neatly, instead their eyes followed the specter floating above it. Izuku froze, they could _see_ him, and the look in their eyes was almost as unnerving as the fact that his body was lying beneath him.

 _Who are you!?_ Izuku demanded. _What's going on!?_

"You did well," the man spoke without acknowledging the words he spoke. "This one is especially strong."

"I would have reported it sooner, but I wanted to be sure of his capabilities," the woman replied humbly with a husky voice that Izuku did not connect to the woman with the sun hat.

 _Hey!_ Izuku called again but they ignored him.

"When the Kitsune's Chibi showed up," the woman continued, "I figured he was worth acquiring."

 _They can't hear me_ , Izuku realized. They could see him but not hear him? Or maybe they _couldn't_ see him? He tried pounding on the glass again, but he made no noise. The man's eyes flicked to where he struggled and Izuku realized with something akin to dread that he very much _could_ see him.

"Ah yes," the man stroked a wisp of hair on his chin as he leaned in closer and Izuku backed away. "Then I suppose Kitsune will be back to interfere soon enough."

 _Kitsune? Was the name of a hero?_ Izuku latched onto the name and tried to wrack his memory for any mention of it, but came up blank.

"How troublesome," the woman agreed. "Shall we hurry along then?"

"Indeed, let's begin the de-fleshing process," the man moved over to one of the pieces of machinery. Izuku traced the wires and tubes that connected the machine to his chamber and his dread only intensified. "I estimate we have until the end of the day before they pinpoint our location." The man started playing with a control panel and something started crawling through the tubes toward the containment chamber. "Make sure Kumo is ready to make the transfer."

"Yes, sir" the woman nodded and left the room.

Izuku resumed pounding on the glass, trying to find a way out of his confinement. An evil grin spread across the man's face as he watched Izuku struggle. "Fair warning, Mr. Izuku Midoria," he said. Izuku froze at the sound of him name then slowly turned to look the man in the eye. "This is going to hurt."

The monstrous insects poured into the chamber, lured by the scent of festering flesh of the corpse and they began their feast. Pain seared through Izuku's spirit as they devoured what remained of his body.

He screamed.

 **Oo-oO**

The teacher rambled on about random shit that didn't matter a damn bit. Katsuki sat at his desk with his chin propped up on his hand as he tried to process everything that happened that morning.

Some villain that Droopy Eyes called Phantom was going around stealing dead bodies, so he can use the spirits anchored to them to power some sort of evil Ghost Soldier army. But Droopy Eyes, who can see ghosts, has been trying to stop it by making sure that the spirits are passing on to 'the next world'. No spirits mean no army. But now the sick fuck had Deku's body.

Katsuki's foot tapped against the floor in agitation and he glared at nothing. Droopy Eyes had refused to elaborate on what exactly would happen to Deku, only that it wouldn't be good and the process may actually end up destroying his spirit.

Well yee-fricking-haw! Then stupid Droopy Eyes tells him to go to school for the day?! That he'd contact him when he tracks down the location of the Phantom's base?! Like he's just supposed to sit on his ass listening to some old guy talk about shit and do nothing while Deku—

"Damnit," Katsuki mumbled through clenched teeth. A few of his classmates glanced at him nervously.

 _The kid's already dead for God's sake. The bull shit is supposed to be over now. This wasn't supposed to happen._ What kind of hero does nothing while the other people do all the work? How was he supposed to be his hero . . .

 _There's one more thing you have to understand_ , Droopy Eyes had told him all serious-like _. You're still a civilian. You don't have authorization to use your quirk. And the_ only _reason I'm involving you as much as I am, is because I believe Midoria can still be saved and you can help him. In the past, by the time I can usually get to them, the spirits that Phantom's captured were beyond the point of redemption, their tortured souls became vengeful spirits. But Midoria is different. He's got a stronger connection to this world. He won't give up so easily._

 _Of course he won't,_ Katsuki snapped his pencil as he remembered what Droopy Eyes had said. _He's always been strong. Always stood back up whenever I pushed him around. Always so fucking optimistic. You can't be a hero with only dreams. You need skill, something he didn't have so . . ._

Katsuki buried his face in his arms on his desk. _So I said something stupid without thinking and Deku did it._

It always seemed to come back to this. The guilt, the regret, the what-ifs, all swirling around in a storm in his head.

The bell pulls him from his thoughts and the teacher tries to yell out last minute instructions as the other students started chatting and getting up to leave. Only two students had the balls to approach the moody Katsuki.

"Look who decided to show up today," Fingers commented jokingly, but his shoulders were tense with the anticipation of an outburst. Katsuki just glared at him before getting up and silently started backing up his bag.

"Come on, man," Wings chuckled nervously. "Don't be like that. You can talk to us."

Katsuki just shrugged them off and threw his bag over his shoulder before walking out of the classroom. Fingers and Wings exchanged concerned glances before following him out.

"So you playing hookie yesterday or what?" Fingers tried again to get Katsuki talking.

"Mind your own damn business," Katsuki growled.

"Hey, why don't we hit up the arcade?" Fingers continued. "We haven't gone out in forever, not since—" He stopped midsentence and his eyes went wide as he realized what he was about to say. Katsuki froze too and slowly turned to look at Fingers over his shoulder.

"Not since what?" His voice was low and promised pain to whoever answered incorrectly.

Fingers took a step back and held up his hands in defence. "Hey man, you know what I meant."

"Tch," Katsuki sneered and started walking again. Fingers and Wings visibly sagged as Katsuki let it go so easily. It was like walking on egg shells around him lately, but it's not like he would explode and resort to violence like he used to. Instead he'd go all quiet which was, in all honesty, so much worse.

This time the two let him walk away with hunched shoulders and as soon as he turned the corner Wings smacked Fingers over the head.

"Hey!" Fingers protested.

"The hell you doing? Ya got a death wish?" Wings chewed him out.

"It just slipped out, honest!" Fingers defended himself. "Besides, we both know where he's been hanging out, why he skips."

"All the more reason to not bring it up," Wings urged. "He's always been touchy about Midoria, then the kid goes and offs himself the day after Bakugo tells him to jump off a building? Come on, you don't just casually bring it up like that!"

Fingers just stared off after Katsuki before responding. "You know, have you noticed that he hasn't once told something to 'die' since it happened?"  
Wings was taken aback for a second then he tried racking his brain before realizing that Fingers was right. Katsuki hadn't used his so-called catch phrase since Izuku Midoria died. Wings joined Fingers in staring off after their buddy with unreadable expressions on their faces.

 **Oo-oO**

Katsuki changed his shoes and shut the locker door. He couldn't help but over hear the girls giggling. Apparently there was a boy in a high school uniform waiting by the gate.

"He's pretty cute."

"You think he's someone's brother?"

"I bet he's waiting for his girlfriend."

Katsuki brushed by the group and they quickly shuffled out of his way before starting to mutter about how Bakugo had changed these last few weeks, ever since—

Katsuki whipped around to glare at them. They instantly shut up and scurried away.

 _Ever since . . ._ Lately no one was able to finish the sentence after those two words.

He shook his head and kept walking with his eyes glued to the ground, only rising to glare at anyone who wandered too close. Then he saw the supposed 'cute' boy leaning casually against the wall at the front gate. He paused for a fraction of a second as he recognized the longer dark hair and bored, half lidded grey eyes. Droopy Eyes showed up sooner than he'd thought.

The psychic gave him a once over as he stopped in front of where he was leaning.

"Well?" Katsuki asked, sick of waiting around and doing nothing.

Kolo locked eyes with him. "We got it."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I broke my self appointed schedule. This was supposed to be out Sunday :( But to make for it, this chap is like twice as long. The time for feels and angst is done. Now is the time for action!

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Chapter 6

"What are these for?" Katsuki asked as Kolo handed him a pair of sleek ear buds.

"You'll need them," Kolo said while still riffling through the duffle bag he'd brought along. "Put them on."

"Are we gonna be splitting up?" He asked as he put them in. They muffled all sound to the point where he could barely hear so he kept one out. He paused as he thought of something and exploded. "You're not gonna leave me behind are you!? Cuz I swear, if you try to bench me—"

"I'm not benching you," Kolo interrupted and shot him an irritated look. "They're to protect you from my quirk if I have to use it."

"You're quirk?"

"If you hear it, you'll be affected. And I'm sure you wouldn't like that at all," Kolo rolled his eyes and pulled out a traditional Japanese fox mask from his bag. It was pale white with red swirling lines and two pointed ears. He handed it to Katsuki and pulled out a similar one for himself. "You'll be wearing this also."

Katsuki took the thing and looked at it indignantly. "Seriously? What are we, in pre-school?"

"Just do it," Kolo glared from behind his half-faced mask that left the lower part of his face exposed. "I'd rather they not know who we are, you especially."

"And if I say no?"

Kolo stilled and his voice turned hard. "Then you'll be left behind."

"You can't seriously think—"

"You're forgetting your position here," Kolo ground out. "You are still a civilian. You are not a licenced hero, you have no authorization to use your quirk, I had to convince my superior to let you even be here. If I didn't think you could help, you never would have seen me after the day we met at the graveyard."

Katsuki was silent as the high schooler ranted. He held his fists tight against his sides and his teeth gnashed together in frustration. "Fine," he ground out between his teeth as he gave in and put the mask over his face. Where the psychic's mask left his mouth and chin exposed, Katsuki's covered his entire face. "How stupid do I look?" he asked lifting his arms up and letting them fall back to his side.

"Better than if you were dead," Kolo replied dryly and attached a few things to clips along his belt, including a gun-looking thing, a decent sized knife and a couple of round, grenade type gadgets among other things.

"Any toys for me?" Katsuki asked, pushing the stupid mask to rest on top of his head. He was mildly impressed by the display of technology.

"Yeah," Kolo surprised him before throwing him a pair of light gloves with metal cuffs.

Katsuki looked at him with a blank face and half-lidded eyes. "You think they'll dust for fingerprints?" He slipped them on anyhow and flexed his fingers into the perfectly fitting material. The metal cuffs added a bit of uncomfortable weight, but it was nothing restricting.

"No, it's insurance." Kolo's face mimicked Katsuki's blank expression as pulled out a hand-held and activated the gloves. Instantly, the metal cuffs flashed green then tightened around his wrists before clicking as they locked closed.

"Hey!" Katsuki pulled at them but the wrist was now too narrow for him to take them off. "The hell are you doing!?"  
"Like I said," Kolo continued fidgeting with his equipment, "insurance. You're not authorized to use your quirk and I don't trust you not to. Those gloves have been specially designed to supress any explosions you can create. But there is a drawback; any damages they sustain will be reflected back onto you. So if you want to keep using your hands, I suggest you follow this rule."  
"What do you know about me!?"

"A lot more than you think," Kolo said evenly, finally looking up from his task. "You're brash and impulsive and you quickly resort to violence. You're not above using your explosive quirk to intimidate others and you don't like it when people underestimate you."

Katsuki's open mouth slowly closed as his teeth clenched together again. How did he know all this? He suddenly realized that he knew next to nothing about this guy. "Who the hell _are_ you?"

"I'm the Kitsune's Chibi," Kolo answered and he unconsciously straightened his back. "I'm a first year high school student on my way to getting a hero's licence and am currently interning under the support hero, Kitsune. I've been chasing Phantom for three years now and have been helping wandering spirits pass on since I was eight. I know what I'm doing and unless you want your friend's soul to be trapped inside an immortal soldier and subjected to torment for eternity, I suggest that you quit questioning everything and follow me."

Katsuki could only mutter his indignations. He didn't like it. Not one fucking bit.

 **Oo-oO**

Izuku writhed. He could feel a new power rushing through him, sparking off him, caused by whatever they had done to him. He could hear things, see things that he couldn't before. There were dark shapes lingering in the corners, voices taunting and laughing at him. He tried to scream but the rush of power cut him off and he drowned in the flashes of green electricity that erupted from him.

Lying below him was a pile of bones, _his_ bones, stripped of their flesh by the monstrous insects. It was a painful process that triggered the torrent of spiritual power to be released and flood into Izuku's soul. Now he could only writhe and struggle to contain this immeasurable power and hang onto his sanity as the voices screamed and laughed at him and the shadows danced around his cage.

A door opened, and the monster of a man entered. Izuku somehow registered the four pairs of arms, the greasy hair, the bulging fangs and associated him with a spider quirk. The woman from before followed him in.

The voices flooded in behind them and the dark shadows grew bigger.

"I can't believe this. I've never seen readings like this ever before!" the spider man said excitedly. He moved closer to Izuku's containment chamber that sparked with green electricity. He watched as Izuku flickered into and out of the visible spectrum, becoming palpable for a moment then fading to a staticky silhouette, visible only because of the special glass that filtered the light. "Not only is he strong, but he has developed an elemental control! A very rare thing indeed."

"That's good to hear," the woman smiled. "Phantom will be pleased."

The spider man started fiddling with the surrounding machines and changed the settings inside the containment chamber. Izuku screamed again and static burst forth and filled the tube. The spider man grinned as he watched the display of power.

"How much time do we have?" the spider man asked. "I can't imagine that Kitsune has stayed quiet all day."

"There's been no sign of the Kitsune's Chibi so far, but I can't imagine that he'll be much longer," the woman reported.

Izuku covered his ears as if it might make the voices and the torment go away. Of course, it didn't. He couldn't shut it out, the truths that they whispered to him. The truth that he wasn't the only ghost. He didn't have a quirk. He wasn't special. He was dead. . . He _killed_ himself.

Izuku blacked out the rest of the conversation as the spider man turned to the maker of the shadows. "You've done well, Motsuyo," the spider man praised the darkest shadow. The woman quirked an eyebrow as the spider man talked to the being she could not see nor hear. "Now be on the lookout for the Chibi. He is sure to arrive soon."

The dark shadow bowed to the spider man and dissolved into nothing.

Izuku sighed as the pressure lessened and his torment faded to something more bearable. The voices stopped and the shadows in the corners became still. He hugged himself as an intangible tear dripped from his eye. It didn't hit the floor.

 **Oo-oO**

"This is . . ." Katsuki trailed off as he looked up through the slits in his mask at the tall cluster of buildings nestles around a neat courtyard.

"XX University," Kolo finished, his half-faced mask hiding the emotions he didn't let leak into his voice.

Katsuki's eyes narrowed. "How'd they manage that?"

"Their engineer's posing as a PhD student. Gives them access to better equipment and funding and no one questions why you're there at weird times of the night. All in all, not a bad set up." Kolo pulled out his hand-held again and brought out a schematic of one of the buildings. "They've set up on the fifth floor of the Tetsu Building," he went on as a section of the floor plan lit up in red. "Getting into the building won't be hard, after all it's a public place, but they've probably guessed I'm coming so they'll be on high alert."

"If they know we're coming then there's no point in using stealth," Katsuki growled. He was fidgeting with anticipation. He'd been sitting around for far too long already . . . he'd been sitting around doing nothing for a whole _month_. It was time to change that.

Kolo's eye roll went unnoticed under his mask. "Let's try to avoid a full kamikaze."

Katsuki growled again and turned back to the building. "Fine. Then what's the plan?"

 **Oo-oO**

The hallways of the university building were empty that evening. Classes were finished for the day and almost all students were gone. The only discernable activity was on the fifth floor where a handful of men were idling around, guarding the secrets that lay within the laboratory.

Two men watched the elevator and each of the three sets of staircases had one, for a total of five hired guns. Kolo confirmed this information before calling the elevator.

"Direct," Katsuki commented as the door slid open. "I like it."

Kolo followed him in and pressed the '5' button. "Make sure to keep those ear buds in," he reminded as he adjusted his mask.

"What _is_ your quirk anyway," Katsuki asked, squinting behind his full-faced fox mask, and made sure the buds were snug in his ears. The world's sound was lost to Katsuki as the buds blocked any noise that echoed around him.

"You'll see," Kolo's voice crackled over the speakers in the buds.

 **Oo-oO**

The elevator rumbled and the two men standing guard exchanged a look before shifting into a more alert position. They watched the number above the elevator change as the car moved toward their floor. Sure enough, after a crisp ' _ding'_ the door slid open.

Kolo and Katsuki stepped out and the two guards fell into battle position. There was a quick moment of silence as the two sides squared off.

"Alright," one of the guards broke the silence and raised his submachine gun. "Let's make this easy." The other guard mimicked his movements.

Katsuki glared behind his mask and wished he could hear what was being said. Then, to his indignation, the psychic slowly raised his hands in surrender.

"What are you—" Katsuki started. It was weird not being able to hear the words coming out of his own mouth, but he was cut off by Kolo's voice in his ear, which was even weirder when he couldn't hear anything else.

"Just go with it," he whispered. "And keep the ear plugs in."

Katsuki growled but complied. "This isn't what I signed up for."

The two guards seemed to relax slightly at the suddenly obedient intruders. Katsuki watched the one guard say something with an annoying smirk on his face and he wished he could just slam his palm into it and blow it the hell up. His fingers twitched, and the weight of the metal cuffs and gloves reminded him that he wouldn't be using his quirk anytime soon.

Kolo took a step forward with his hands still up and the guard's smirk vanished. The guns snapped to point at him and Katsuki tensed. The guard said something to Kolo again, but the psychic took another step. The man was yelling now and shaking his gun for emphasis.

Katsuki was about to follow in step, but then Kolo's soft voice came through the ear buds again. It was _not_ what Katsuki was expecting.

" _Hush little baby don't say a word. Mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird._ "

Both guards froze, confused and thrown off guard. Then one of them dropped the gun as their eyes widened and he reached for a knife.

" _And if that mocking bird don't sing, mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring._ "

The guard lunged forward with his knife but stumbled after covering half the distance between them. The other guard let his own gun fall to the ground and slapped his hands over his ears, trying to block out the song.

" _And if that diamond ring turns brass, mama's gonna buy you a looking glass."_

The guard with the knife dropped to the ground and struggled to stay conscious. The second guard tried to reach for something on his belt while keeping his ears plugged.

" _And if that looking glass gets broke, mama's gonna buy you a billy goat._ "

With the last vestiges of consciousness, the guard on the ground drew a pistol and squeezed the trigger.

" _And if that billy goat won't pull, mama's gonna buy you a cart and bull."_

Without breaking his rhythm, Kolo darted forward and kicked the gun away as his hand snaked down to his belt and he drew his own small pistol. He aimed and shot a small stream of electricity that put the fallen guard out for good.

" _And if that cart and bull turn over, mama's gonna buy you a dog named Rover."_

The second guard watched his partner get taken out and threw caution to the wind. He let the song penetrate as he removed his hands from his ears and activated the alarm.

" _And if that dog named Rover won't bark, mama's gonna buy you a horse and cart."_

Kolo was suddenly in front of the man and whispered directly into his ear.

" _And if that horse and cart fall down, you'll still be the sweetest baby in town."_

The guard dropped like a stone and was out cold before he even hit the ground.

Kolo stood over the unconscious figures of the two fully grown men and Katsuki didn't have a clue how he'd done it.

"Wh—" he cleared his throat as his voice cracked. "What exactly _is_ your quirk?" he asked again.

Kolo turned to look at him. Katsuki had to fight the urge to take a step back. It was unreal, he was just a scrawny kid, but the fox mask hid as much as it told. "It's called Siren," Kolo's voice said over the coms. "I can make people feel different things depending on the song I sing. Happy songs make people happy. Sad songs make them sad. . ."

"And a lullaby puts them to sleep," Katsuki finished, turning his eyes to the downed guards. "But _I_ was listening. . ."

"Doesn't work through speakers," Kolo said, turning his attention back to the hall they faced. "Which is why your ear buds block out all surrounding sound. You can still hear me but won't be affected."

Footsteps pounded down the hall toward them and the remaining guards on the floor were suddenly in front of them with their guns drawn at them.  
"So I suggest you keep them in," Kolo finished as he faced his next set of enemies. He pulled another support item out of his belt and it extended into a metal rod about three feet long. "And I suggest you take a step back and find some cover."

Katsuki saw one of the other guards' mouth something, his face twisted in confusion then switch to a mix of anger and fear. Katsuki did as the psychic suggested and stepped back, taking cover behind a support pillar.

Then the bullets rained.

Kolo waved his metal rod and created an electric field that repelled all the bullets aimed at him. Useless bullets clinked against the ground and the gunfire stopped, giving Kolo the chance to start his song again.

 _"Hush little baby don't say a word, mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird."_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** This is my first story to reach 100 followers! Thank you all so much for the support and I hope you continue to like it as things start coming to conclusion. Like I said before, I estimate around 10 chapters so we're getting close! And again thank you all, you're awesome!

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Chapter 7

Kolo inspected his handy work. Five fully trained guards sleeping like babies littered the hallway. No blood, no bodies, no mess. Good.

He turned to make sure his charge hadn't been caught in the cross fire and froze. "Shit."

"Well now, look who decided to stop by," the woman cooed as she held a gun to Katsuki's head. With the ear buds blocking out all sound, Katsuki hadn't heard the woman sneaking up behind him. The buds were now lying on the floor where they'd be of no use. "This must be a new record, Chibi. And look at this! You even brought a friend," she nudged Katsuki's fox mask off and it fell to the floor. "Hey, I remember you. You were always coming to the graveyard to pay our little ghost friend a visit. Well aren't you a good pal?"

"Who the hell are you!?" Katsuki demanded as he squirmed in her grasp.

"Oh, I was sure you'd remember me, too," she flirted. "Then again, I was wearing a hat, so maybe you wouldn't."

"Enough with the games, Hana," Kolo interrupted, drawing her attention back.

"Ah-ah-ah," she sang and trailing the gun along Katsuki's face. "No talking from you. Unlike those goons, I'm fully aware of your troublesome quirk. Another word out of you and your sidekick will get himself a new hole in his head."

Katsuki's fingers twitched at his side as the gloves soaked up his nitroglycerin saturated sweat. He was in a bad place, he knew that, and FUCK if he was gonna be used as a hostage! He racked his mind for some cleaver way out of this.

 _I wonder how much damage the gloves can take,_ he wondered _._ He unconsciously set off a small fire cracker and flinched as the gloves re-directed the mini-explosion back onto his palms. "Shit!"

"Easy there, big guy," the woman purred in his ear. "No funny business now."

"Fuck you!" He spat back.

The woman frowned. Kolo started to move.

 _Bang!_

The gun fired. Katsuki felt the bullet kiss the skin of his temple, drawing a thin line of blood, before flying to where Kolo had slowly been inching forward. He sprang back again and deflected the bullet with his metal rod before scowling.

"You too, baby fox," the woman smirked, happy that she'd scared her hostage into complacency. "I'll need you to stay out of the way while we finish our project. Shouldn't be too long now." As she spoke, thorny vines started wiggling their way toward Kolo. Katsuki couldn't see where they were coming from, but he heard the psychic mutter a curse. Then the vines suddenly snapped forward and entangled Kolo, binding his arms to his sides and lifting him off the ground. Little spots of blood stained his clothes where long thorns dug into his skin and red roses blossomed in no apparent pattern. When it was done, Kolo was a fly trapped in a spider's web.

As a final touch, a single vine slid around his head as a gag, blocking the use of his quirk on any ignorant passers by.

"Now be a good little Chibi and stay put," the woman taunted as she hugged Katsuki closer and started dragging him away, "or you'll have another ghost on your hands."

 **Oo-oO**

Izuku was scared. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know who these people were. He didn't know what they were trying to do. He didn't know why they were hurting him—more like _how_ they were able to hurt him. But as much as his lack of knowledge scared him, the whole situation made him mad.

Who were these people to mess with someone's spirit? Who were they to hurt others? Who were they to take life into their own hands? They were villains and it was a hero's duty to stop them.

 _Hold on a second,_ the shadow whispered to him _. But you're not a hero. You're not even alive. Do you really think you can stop them? Your life was meaningless. You accomplished nothing, lived for nothing, died for nothing. Even now, you can't do anything. You're not a hero. You're just a fool who convinced yourself that you can be more than you are. Face it, you were never special. You were quirkless._

Izuku flinched at the harsh words and clamped his hands over his ears.

 _"Stop!"_ he screamed, fighting for control as the anger bubbled up again. " _If you think petty words are enough, you're—sorely mistaken. So—just—shut—up—and DIE!"_

The glass around him cracked as his electricity erupted in one blinding strike. The shadow was thrown back to the spider man's surprise.

" _I'm sorry, master,"_ the shadow pleaded to the man with the spider quirk. " _He's become too strong."_

"Then we better hurry up," the spider man growled and turned to his master piece. A glistening, metal android was laid out on the table. Various panels were opened to reveal slots where each bone would reside. Once sealed inside, the Immortal Ghost Soldier would awaken.

The door to the lab burst open and the woman dragged Katsuki into the room. She pushed him into the corner and her rose vines appeared and tangled him up like they did to Kolo. Katsuki was still in shock from the near miss with the bullet, but he froze all over again as he took in the evil laboratory he now found himself in.

Large pieces of machinery were laid out around the room, all revolving around a long stainless-steel table that held the half opened android and a large glass containment tube that had a big crack in it and green ethereal electricity sparking inside. It was something straight out of a Frankenstein movie. All that was left was to bring the monster to life.

Monster . . .

Katsuki's eyes drifted to the containment tube and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the pile of bones piled unceremoniously at the bottom.

 _Deku._ Katsuki mouthed the word but no sound left his mouth. He started as the deceased boy appeared, flickered into existence before disappearing. But he saw it. He was really there! Deku was there!

He flicked into sight again, this time staring straight at Katsuki. Their eyes met for a moment and Katsuki couldn't help but shutter at what was left of him. He only saw hollow eyes that didn't fit on Izuku's face. Those eyes were void of all the emotion, hopes and tears of the Deku he knew and tormented for years. He couldn't help but think, _Is that the same Deku?_

"Hana! What is it? Who's this?" the spider man demanded. Green lightning jumped from the cracked glass with a splitting burst and he cursed and ran to the table where his project was laid out. "Agh! Never mind! I don't have time! We need to hurry with the transfer before everything overheats!"

"What the hell's going on?!" the woman screamed.

"He's strong," the spider man grinned with madness. "And once it's done, we'll have an unstoppable soldier!"

Katsuki snapped out of his trance, his wide eyes narrowing into glaring slits. His brow furrowed, and his lips parted into a sneer. "Like HELL that's gonna happen!" He yanked at the vines even though the sharp thorns dug into his skin. He didn't feel the pain, only the familiar burning rage that flooded every bit of his being. "If you think you're getting out of this intact, you don't know who your fucking messing with!"  
Suddenly the metal cuffs around his wrists clicked open, unlocking the seal on his quirk. He grinned as the gloves slipped off.

 _Droopy Eyes has some damn good timing._

He unleashed his quirk.

 **Oo-oO**

 _Just shut up and DIE! Fucking die! Die, die, die, death, dead, deceased, demise, fatality, mortality, oblivion, termination. I'm . . . dead. Why am I dead? Why aren't they dead? Why only me?_

The mess tumbled around Izuku's head as he struggled to hold back the torrent of emotions that seemed to be linked to his power. Suddenly, _he_ was there in the room. Looking at him with wide eyes through the cracked glass.

 _Ka-chan_. _He's not dead either. . . But he's hurt_.

Izuku registered the trail of blood that was drying down Katsuki's face, and his protective instincts flared. He let his power overwhelm him and burst out in one giant wave. It wormed its way through the cracks in the glass and spread its tendrils to burn anything within reach.

The spider man scrambled and fussed over his machines, making sure everything was still working as he grinned madly.

 _Ka-chan_. . . Wasn't there something Izuku had been wanting to say? All those times the other boy had come to see him, he'd tried so hard to say it. It always seemed so important that he get strong enough to tell him face to face.

He'd gotten his quirk, only it wasn't a quirk. It was death. He was dead. Why did he die again? It was getting hard to remember things.

Ka-chan . . . Ka-chan had told him how to get a quirk and it had worked! Wait . . . no it didn't. He didn't get a quirk, he got dead . . Ka-chan, he . . . Ka-chan. . .

 **Oo-oO**

Katsuki's explosion filled the room with smoke and limp rose vines flew everywhere. The teen grinned as adrenalin pumped through his heart and he set off fire crackers in his newly exposed palms as he face the woman and the monstrous spider man.

"This is why I don't like dealing with children," the spider man sneered. "Motsuyo, deal with it."

Katsuki crouched, ready for whatever that meant. But instead, a haunting voice echoed from the containment tube.

" _No."_

All at once, the glass shattered, and electricity scorched across the entire room. Katsuki was thrown back by the sheer overwhelming force that pushed everything back and even ripped up some things that were bolted to the ground.

"Deku!" Katsuki gasped as even the pile of bones rose up and floated in the air with an ethereal glow.

"Hana, quick! The circle!" the spider man screamed over the chaos. The woman thrust her hands forward and her vines grew out of the ground and the ceiling, trying to replicate the intricate designs carved into the concrete that had bound the spirit to the area of the circle. The wave of power had cracked even the ceiling and unleashed the spirit. Despite her speed and skill in controlling her vines, she wasn't fast enough.

An intangible, glowing figure flickered into existence in front of her. Her eyes widened as she stared death in the face and fear took over. "No—don't—AHHHH!" She didn't get the change to plead before the lightning was called down on her. She writhed on the floor as her hair burnt off in chunks and her eyes liquified in her skull.

"Hana!" the spider man called out in shock and Izuku vanished again. It was all happening too quickly. He glared at the dark shadow only he could see. " _Do something!_ " He seethed and ran to protect the empty husk of a robot that had been flung from its ceremonial position on the metal table.

The shadow shrank back in the face of overwhelming power. Instead of facing it, the shadow fled. Wisps of electricity licked its heals as it melted under the door and disappeared.

"You useless coward!" the spider man cursed the spiritual being. He tried gathering up his creation in his arms, but Izuku flickered in front of him, sparks cracking around his figure as he stared at the spider man with hollow eyes.

He met Izuku's empty gaze and let his unfinished soldier clatter to the ground as he knelt in front of the ghost. "You would have been magnificent," he whispered.

Izuku narrowed his wide eyes slightly. " _You don't get to make that decision."_ He raised his hand to once again summon his lightning.

"Deku!"

Izuku froze with his arm half raised and slowly turned his head to look at Katsuki. The spider man took his chance and a thin string of silk shot out and he propelled himself through the boarded up fifth floor window and out into mid-air.

Izuku didn't pay him any mind as all his focus was locked onto Katsuki who was standing only a few feet away.

" _Ka-chan,"_ Izuku breathed. Katsuki flinched at the sound of his old childhood nickname and Izuku knew that he could hear him. That he could _see_ him.

This was his chance. He could finally tell him what he'd been wanting to say for . . . how long has it been? It didn't matter, because Ka-chan was right in front of him.

The door clattered open and Kolo with his half-faced fox mask took in the scene before him. The destroyed lab, the mutilated body of the rose woman, the broken window, but most of all was the malicious intent that radiated from Izuku in waves so powerful that it made him nauseous.

He was too late. They had turned him.

Izuku didn't notice the psychic. He was fixated on Katsuki and he finally told him.

" _It's all your fault."_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/B:** Okay, I lied. This is wrapping up nicer and quicker than I expected. One chapter left after this one for a total of nine. :P And still debating on a sequel. Give me your input.

* * *

Chapter 8

The green sparks leapt from Izuku, dancing around his ghostly figure in an entrancing spectacle and Katsuki could only stare, frozen as he said those words. The same words that echoed in his mind, that haunted his dreams, that people whispered behind his back. They were words that rang true, he couldn't argue it. He shouldn't have expected anything different. So why did it hurt so much more when it came from _him_?

" _It's all your fault,_ " Izuku said again, the sparks grew more violent and lashed out as his anger grew. " _I'm dead because of YOU!"_ Izuku screamed and the room exploded. Katsuki's self preservation kicked in and he braced for the impact, but it never came.

Suddenly Kolo was there, standing between them with a talisman folded between his lips and his hands pressed together as if he were praying. There was a flash of light and Kolo threw the talisman and shouted flowing words that drew chains around the angered spirit.

Izuku fought against the sudden resistance, his mind in chaos at the thought of being bound again. He lashed out, but Kolo finished the ritual. He thrust out his hands to ward off the spirit and Izuku's cries faded as his form was dispelled.

The room was suddenly very quiet, deathly so.

Katsuki stared wide eyed at the psychic. "What did you just do?"

"I sealed him in his bones," Kolo said, crouching down in front of the pile of remains. He kept his voice carefully even, masking the emotions he wouldn't let seep out. "But it won't hold for long. We need to get out of here."

The next hour passed in a haze. Katsuki didn't remember Kolo packing Izuku's bones into a safe box that looked more like a briefcase. He doesn't remember trailing behind as they left the campus or pushing through the crowd of people that had gathered at the sight of the commotion on the fifth floor. He finally stopped blindly following as the psychic was leading him down some quiet side street. Kolo slowed his own steps and turned to him when he realized Katsuki had stopped and quirked an eyebrow in a silent question.

"What now?" Katsuki asked, his eyes glued to the ground in front of him.

Kolo ground his teeth together and looked away. He didn't want to answer.

"We saved him," Katsuki continued at his silence and glared at him. "We got him back, so now what?"

". . ."

"What was that?" Katsuki growled. He didn't like how quiet Droopy Eyes was being.

"We were too late," he finally answered.  
"Huh?" Katsuki felt the world spin. "What the hell does that mean!? We got his fucking bones or whatever! So what the fuck are we supposed to do now!?"

"There's nothing to do!" Kolo shouted back in the heat of the moment. He took a second to regain his breath and reign in his frustration. "We were too late," he repeated quietly. "They broke him. He's becoming a vengeful spirit."

Katsuki stared with wide eyes and his heart pounded loudly in his ears. _Vengeful . . ._

"There's only one thing to do once it reaches this point," Kolo turned his back to Katsuki, unable to look at him anymore. "It's too dangerous for him to remain here anymore. He has to be exorcized."

". . . what?" Katsuki whispered so quietly that it was almost lost to the wind. "What did you say?"

"There's nothing else to do," Kolo said, gripping the box in his hands, the box with _his_ bones. "He's already too powerful for a spirit as young as he is, and if he stays then his power will only grow as his spirit is further corrupted by the influence of this world." He gripped the box harder. "If he'd only passed on when we first met, then none of this would have happened."

 _No,_ Katsuki thought to himself. _No, I wasn't such a piece of shit then none of this would have happened._

The last vestiges of Katsuki's anger faded away, leaving him hollow and Izuku's words echoed through his head.

 _It's all your fault . . ._

 _I'm dead because of you. . ._

And now this bastard was going to exercise him.

"Ha," Katsuki raised a hand to cover his eye. "So that's that then?"

Kolo turned to look at Katsuki, unnerved by the tone of his voice.

"That's what it comes to? After everything, we did nothing? After you said that we could still save him . . . After—after all . . ."

"Bakugo?" Kolo asked carefully.

Katsuki's face twisted into a sneer and he glared at the psychic. "Like hell I'm gonna let that happen."

Kolo didn't even see it coming. One moment there was a five-foot gap between them, and the next Katsuki's hate-filled eyes were right next to his. Then . . . nothing.

Kolo groaned as his woke up and looked around. It took him a minute to regain his senses and he took notice of a few things. First, that a good period of time had passed since he'd been knocked out. Second was that Katsuki was gone. And third, the box with Izuku's bones was gone, too.

 **Oo-oO**

With the box held tightly against his chest, Katsuki ran. He ran for a long time, dodging around pedestrians, rounding corners, following side streets, until he began to recognize his surroundings. He skipped across the road and slowed down as he heard the crashing waves over the short stone wall. A little farther and he reached the stairway that led down to the beach covered in garbage, his sanctuary. He wove through the familiar piles of trash until he came to a small clearing he had made himself when he needed to vent his frustrations. It was here that he fell to his knees and let the box in his arms rest in front of him.

For a while, Katsuki could only stare at it. It was a sturdy box, lined with leather and strong straps. Along the edges was faint writing that he couldn't read and flat on the top was a talisman that was no doubt helping to keep the angered spirit bound inside. . . keeping _Deku_ inside.

In a flurry, he growled and ripped the stupid piece of paper off, letting it fly away into the ocean where the water dragged it down into its depths. Katsuki didn't pay it any attention and instead, with shaking hands, undid the clasp and opened the box. And there they were, Deku's bones. The only thing that was left of him. The only thing tying him to this world.

Suddenly, Katsuki couldn't breathe.

He could see the cracks, the web-like pattern on the skull, the fractured arms bones, the broken ribs . . . all the damage accumulated from the fall.

"God damnit," he choked as his chest heaved and his vision went blurry. He reached out to touch the skull, only for fragments of the forehead to fall away at the slightest disturbance. "GOD DAMNIT!"

He slouched over the box and screamed.

This wasn't happening.

This _wasn't_ happening!

It was just like when it all started a month ago. The anguish, the frustration, the guilt, all crashing down around him in waves greater than he could handle.

They were supposed to save him. Stupid Droopy Eyes said that if he came along, they'd be able to save him, that he could be a hero . . .

How could he be a hero? How? When he caused all this to happen? How?

No. He was no hero. It was his fault.

 _It's all your fault, Ka-chan._ Deku's words echoed around his head as he started seeping out of the box.

Katsuki screamed his grief again and clutched at the box.

 _Why am I the only one who's dead?_ Deku whispered. _What did I ever do to deserve this? Why do you get to keep living? You told me I would get a quirk. You lied to me. It's as if you pushed me off that roof yourself. . . Murderer._

"SHUT UP!" Katsuki yelled and clamped his hands over his ears. "I FUCKING KNOW!"

 _Murderer. . . Villain . . . You're no hero. And you never will be._

"I SAID SHUT UP!"  
 _BOOM!_

Katsuki stared wide eyed as he instinctively blew up the box. "No!" He reached out to grab it, but the bones flew out. "Deku!"

Katsuki watched as time slowed down and the bones fell in slow motion . . . only it wasn't slow motion, they were levitating. Green static sparked from the bones and then everything erupted with Katsuki at the epicenter.

Discarded trash bags, empty soda cans, plastic wrappers and larger appliances like microwaves and blenders wiped around him in a vortex. But Katsuki could only stare up at the translucent figure that stared back in judgement.

"Deku," Katsuki whispered. He was a ghost, dressed like he was in his final moments of life but his face was hollow, his eyes cold and full of hatred. Katsuki felt his will drain away. He wasn't even embarrassed to let the tears streak down his face. His chest convulsed, and he heaved his breaths in and out as the fear started to set in.

 _I deserve this,_ he thought. _I deserve his hate. I deserve anything he has to dish out. I caused everything. I'm no hero._

Izuku watched as Katsuki bowed his head in resignation. He was giving up. It was too easy. Something stirred in the spirit. _This isn't right_ , something tried telling him _. This isn't how Ka-chan acts._ The cold anger pushed the voice back. It didn't matter. He was here. He would end it. Then it would be over. . .

Katsuki flinched as the electricity cracked around him, blasting apart debris and jumping from one thing to another.

" _Aren't you going to say anything?"_ the corrupted spirit asked, his voice piercing through the cacophony of the chaos surrounding them.

Katsuki looked up at him. "Nothing that matters."

Izuku's gaze didn't falter as he raised his hand and pointed at him. " _Then this is the end."_

Katsuki bowed his head again in acceptance and tensed up for whatever was to come. Then a small metal ball bounced against his leg. Katsuki was taken aback as more of them started fell around him. With a quick release of air, they all popped open with a burst of light. Instantly, the vortex came to a crashing halt. Debris fell to the ground, flying into the ocean and crashing into the wall the cuts off the beach from the road. For a moment, everything was quiet.

"What—" Katsuki looked around in confusion. Then he heard it.

" _When peace like a river, attendeth my way_ ," Kolo sang as he picked his way through the garbage to their little clearing. " _When sorrows like sea billows roll."_

Izuku stared at the psychic and somewhere in his clouded mind, he recognized the boy with long hair and half lidded, grey eyes.

" _Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, It is well, It is well with my Soul."_

The spirit felt the anger start to fade away as he listened to the ancient song.

 _"It is Well . . . With my Soul . . . It is Well, It is Well with my Soul . . ."_

Why was he so mad again? And why is Ka-chan crying? Ka-chan doesn't cry, he's too proud for that. He . . . Wait—what was he doing here?

" _Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control."_

The song continued and Katsuki could see that it was doing something. Izuku stayed still as Kolo made his way over to them. The green sparks slowly died away and his form began flickering, like he was struggling to hold himself together.

" _That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul."_

"Deku," Katsuki called out again. Izuku's head snapped back to him and something flashed in his eyes. The spirit screamed and lashed out, a streak of green electricity arched out and blasted the ground in front of Katsuki, sending him flying back ward.

Kolo leapt in between them again. _"It is Well . . . With my Soul . . . It is Well, It is Well with my Soul."_

 _It's Ka-chan's fault._

 _No—it's not._

 _He killed me!_

 _I killed myself!_

 _I—it's—_

Izuku fought with himself, his form becoming more unstable until he could hold it no longer and flickered out of sight. But Kolo did not stop his song, because he was not gone, only unseen to those without sight.

 _"My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part but the whole._ "

 _Come on,_ Kolo thought as he sang. _Midoria, you can fight this_!

 _"Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my Soul._ "

Izuku's unseen spirit grasped at his hair and hunched over himself. _What am I doing?_ He looked around at the mess; the piles of garbage strewn about, the small clearing they were in, the scorched ground where he had attacked Ka-chan . . .

 _Ka-chan . . ._

His childhood friend was sprawled out on the ground, watching everything happen with wide, teary eyes. He had tried to kill him, just now.

 _It's all your fault_.

That's not what he wanted to say.

 _I'm dead because of YOU!_

That's not what he wanted to say!

 _"It is Well . . . With my Soul . . . It is Well, It is Well with my Soul."_

" _What have I done?_ " Izuku asked Kolo.

The psychic looked at the spirit in relief. He couldn't believe it. No spirit has been able to come back to their senses after going through what he did. This boy was truly something special. "You're back?" he asked quietly.

" _What did I do?!"_ Izuku asked more urgently.

"Nothing," Kolo bowed his head and rubbed his eyes. It was getting to be too much for him. "You did nothing wrong."

" _Then . . ._ "

"It's okay," Kolo smiled up at him. "Everything's turning out okay for once."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** So . . . Uh . . . Uploaded the wrong chapter 9 earlier . . . Here's the real one while I go die somewhere. . .

* * *

Chapter 9

 _"It is Well, It is Well with my Soul."_

Katsuki couldn't move. He'd been thrown back and could only stare as Droopy Eyes used that stupid quirk of his. He sat, just as entranced as Izuku, as the anger, the grief and everything was washed away until he only felt one thing. Peace.

Slowly, Katsuki found his feet and shuffled over. "Deku?"

Kolo glanced over his shoulder, the lingering traces of a smile still there. Without further prompting, the psychic to a few steps back to give them space.

For a moment, Katsuki felt stupid standing in front of nothing, then Deku was there again. Startled, Katsuki took half a step back before swallowing hard and facing the ghost. That hollow look was gone, and finally, he saw the eyes that he remembered. There was no anger or hatred in those eyes anymore, but there wasn't the peace that Katsuki had felt, only a gentle sadness.

" _Ka-chan . . ."_

Finally face to face with him, Katsuki didn't know what to say. He had been ready to accept Deku's judgement, ready to let him strike him down because that's what he deserved, but now after all that, it was clear that it wasn't what Deku had really wanted. He was never one for harsh judgement and condemnation. He was Deku.

"Why?" Katsuki surprised himself with the question but found that it was the one question that had been haunting him the most. "Why dya do it?"

" _Ka-can I—"_ Izuku bowed his head and looked at the ground. It was such a familiar gesture and Katsuki felt himself falling into their same old roles.

"What? You what?!" Katsuki snapped, letting the anger cover him like a safety blanket.

" _I just,"_ Izuku stuttered as he searched for an answer. _"I was sick and tired of it all, okay!_ " Katsuki went ridged and he continued. " _I—I just wanted to be a hero . . . like you. If I only had a quirk, then . . ."_

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Katsuki choked out. "You didn't need a quirk! You were fine the way you were!"

" _No I wasn't!"_ Izuku shouted, the air vibrating. Kolo tensed, ready to jump in again if it got too bad. Izuku ignored him, " _I was_ nothing _before. Just a useless Deku. . . Just like you always said, Ka-chan. How was I supposed to live as_ nothing? _What kind of life is that?"_

"At least it was a fucking life! You don't even have that anymore! You threw it away like a fucking idiot!" Katsuki's voice cracked and he felt his eyes sting as they flooded again.

" _I—"_

"Fuck!" Katsuki launched a fist at him and let it explode. The shock wave rushed through the piles of garbage and blew debris back. The smoke cleared and Izuku stared at him with wide eyes as he remained untouched, everything had just phased through his. Katsuki screamed at him, "Just don't fucking say anything else! You're a fucking moron! You hear me! You went and fucking killed yourself! You fucking left everyone behind! You—" Katsuki choked on a sob. He couldn't hold himself together anymore. His façade melted away and he turned around in a lame attempt to try and preserve his pride.

Izuku hovered closer to him, reaching out a hand that wouldn't touch him. Even so, he rested it on Katsuki's shoulder and finally told him the thing that he'd been trying to tell him for a month. It didn't hold the same meaning anymore, after all what he thought was a quirk turned out to be nothing more than death. But the words still rang true.

" _It's not your fault, Ka-chan,_ " Izuku said softly.

"I told you not to fucking say anything else!" Katsuki's shoulders hunched and he covered his face with his hands.

" _You're right, I'm an idiot. I did this to myself. I have no one to blame but myself."_

"Damnit. . ." Katsuki let out a choked sob. "You—damn nerd. Why do you always have to show me up?"

Izuku smiled softly. _"Because I always looked up to you."_

"Don't fucking know why you would. I'm a screw up."

 _"No. You're Katsuki Bakugo. And some day you're gonna be the number one hero."_

"I'm no hero."

" _You saved me, didn't you?"_

Katsuki froze and slowly turned to look at him.

 _"You saved me,"_ Izuku repeated and tilted his head with a smile. _"I've always known you'd be a great hero. Nothing will stop you, not even this._ "

"Huh," Katsuki bowed his head. "You really are an idiot, Deku. After everything . . . you still believe in me?" His voice cracked again.

" _Always have," Izuku nodded. "I only wish I could have the chance to become one too. Guess I blew that one pretty bad."_

"Tch," Katsuki grit his teeth as he supressed another sob. "Who says you can't? You're still here. You can still fight. Hell, you threw me pretty hard back there. Who says you can't still be a hero?"

"I say so," Kolo spoke up and they both turned, surprised at his voice.

"The hell did you say!" Katsuki shouted.

"The longer he remains in this world, the more it will corrupt his spirit," Kolo looked at Izuku. "You can feel it, can't you?"

Katsuki whipped his head to look at him. Izuku looked away and Katsuki knew that the psychic was telling the truth. "Can't we—"

"No," Kolo said sternly.

" _Ka-chan_ ," Izuku pulled Katsuki's attention back to himself. " _I don't belong here anymore._ "

Katsuki felt the fight in him drain away and his arms fell to his side. "Is this really it?"

Izuku glanced at Kolo and the psychic nodded his head. " _I'm sorry,"_ Izuku apologized to Katuski. " _Looks like I caused a lot of trouble, right up to the end."_

"Damn straight you did!" Katuski snapped, not looking at him.

 _"Good bye . . . Ka-chan."_

Katsuki finally looked up, only to see that Izuku was already gone. He stared at the empty space a moment longer before lowering his gaze again as tears pricked at his eyes.

"Is he . . ." Katsuki couldn't finish.

"He's gone," Kolo said in his monotone voice and a carefully blank expression.

"Huh," Katsuki huffed and looked up at the passing clouds as the tears flooded over. _Goodbye, Deku._

 **Oo-oO**

Mitsuki Bakugo was starting to get worried. That stupid son of hers was late _again_ and he hadn't even bothered to text het at all that day. She peered outside through the blinds and saw the sun was setting and on the table behind her sat the dinner that had long since gone cold.

"I swear when he gets home, I'll teach him a lesson or two," she grumbled, thinking she'd been too soft on him recently, letting him get away with things she normally would put her foot down in his face for. . . They were all hurting but it was time to accept what had happened and move on.

Sure enough, Katsuki appeared shortly after, dragging his feet with his shoulders hunched and his hands deep in his pockets. Mitsuki waited for the door to slam shut and for him to waltz into the kitchen.

"And where the hell have you be—" she started but stopped as she got a good look at her son and she felt her heart melt. His eyes were red and puffy, his shoulders still quivered and his eyes still downcast wouldn't meet her gaze. "Katsuki . . ."

"He's gone, mum," he said and she felt her chest tighten as his voice cracked with the emotions she knew he had been struggling with but had been too proud to let out. "Deku . . . he's really gone."

Mitsuki rushed over and pulled him into her chest as his eyes started watering again. She ran her fingers through his unruly hair and whispered to him. "It's okay, honey. It's all okay."

His verbal thrashing could wait until tomorrow. For now, she had to comfort her grieving child.

 **Oo-oO**

The next day, Katuski woke up as the sun was filtering through his curtains. His body felt sluggish as he pulled on his school uniform and picked at his breakfast. His mother yelled at him to move his butt and get to school already, and he rolled his eyes as she ruffled his hair and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Have a good day," she said, and she kissed the top of his head before literally kicking him out the door. Katsuki yelled back his indignations and felt a bit of the weight that had burdened him start to lift as things started to revert back to normal.

He walked the familiar path and without even realizing it, had come to a stop in front of the gate of the graveyard. He chided himself, there was nothing for him here anymore. Deku was gone. Even so, he trailed along the rows of graves until he stopped in front of a patch of freshly over turned soil where they had re-buried Deku's remains. Once again, he wasn't the only one there.

"The hell are you doing here, Droopy Eyes," Katsuki scoffed. Kolo turned to him in surprise. He was wearing his dark blue school uniform with a book bag thrown over his shoulder. Gone were any traces of the fox mask and the secret he held.

"I could ask you the same thing," Kolo replied.

"Tch," Katsuki turned to the grave. For some reason, it didn't hurt as much to look at Deku's name carved into the stone, but for a minute, he watched the coloured leaves that littered the ground and he wondered if they would start to dance at the touch of a ghostly hand again. They didn't move.

"What'll you do now?" Kolo asked and Katsuki took a minute to think before answering.

"My plans haven't changed," he looked up to the sky. "I'll get into UA and become the world's top hero." _Just like he said I could._ "I probably won't come back here anymore, though. There's nothing left waiting for me here."

"That's probably for the best," Kolo nodded half heartedly. As Katsuki turned around to leave, Kolo called out to him one more time. "Hey, no offence, but I hope we don't run into each other again."

"Heh," Katsuki smirked with confidence. "Don't worry. I don't plan on dying, _ever_."

Kolo's friendly smile dropped the second Katuski turned his back and he watched him walk away with a somber expression. "You're really not gonna tell him?"

" _It's for the best,"_ Izuku responded. " _He's been through enough on m behalf."_

"It you say so," Kolo adjusted the strap of his bag. "It's time to take down Phantom once and for all."

* * *

 **A/N** : And so starts the beginning of the end. This has been fun to write and I'm surprised at the response I got for it! Thanks to everyone who have supported me through this, and don't worry. This isn't the end.

Sequel will be up when I've hashed out all the details and actually begin writing it. I will probably not create a new fic but continue posting in this one as a continuation, so everyone who's following will get the notifications when I start posting again. Sneak Peek: We will finally meet Kitsune, and both Kirishima and Jirou will have rolls in the future also . . . what those rolls will be are still up in the air though :P

Thanks again, and as always Keep Reading, Keep Writing and Keep Dreaming!


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